An Akatsuki Affair
by Floppybunny
Summary: When an old team member of Suigetsu's is pinned to kill Sasuke, what will happen in the aftermath? Will she fulfill her mission or will she resign herself to give the Raven a chance?
1. Chapter 1

It was hard to say that the village hidden in the mist was pleasant. If anything the place was murky and sullen. Many of the nin traveling along the borders of the village stayed well out of range when they could, but for some it was inevitable. The fog was low and settling against the rocks while the moon planted itself high within the sky lording over those which depended upon its light for travel. The breeze was sweeping through the reeds and the water's edge with a stealthy grace, as the animals crept among the water hiding from the moonlight. Taizu stood against the shadows sparring herself from the lunar world around her and waited. She was waiting for four very specific people to pass by her station, and when they did, she had orders to capture and kill. Her body tense, she realized she was tired. Exhausted. She'd been tired since her last mission two days ago in which she'd been ordered to help interrogate a neighboring nin that had been caught trespassing a treaty with the land of lightening. Her smooth red braid slipped over her shoulder brushing her bicep. She fought the urge to move it back behind herself so as not to alert the two she waited for. She wasn't one for looks, Taizu had always been practical.

A simple kunouchi, she'd never bothered giving much thought process into how she dressed or how her hair looked. Hell, she didn't even bother wearing make-up unless she was forced to for a role playing intell mission. Those she hated. She hated being dressed up in traditional robes and having her hair done with intricate braids and flowers. She was not a trophy wife. She was a hand to hand battle ready ninja. That didn't involve having her nails done and her lipstick on. She feigned women who lived to do nothing but find a husband and settle down, let alone kunouchi who led their lives to serve as medical and intell workers. Fuck that shit. She wasn't even good at healing wounds, let alone saving someone's life with any medical function whatsoever. There was a light splash to her right, five feet from her spot, she stayed still and held her breath. It wouldn't be long now. As the black cloaks moved in front of her she caught the first glimpse of Uchiha Sasuke. They'd given her this mission because she was the best they'd had. The best ninja in the mist, but not a swordsmen, Taizu had become a valuable asset at the kage summit. However, she'd refused to be a part of re-sealing the five tailed beast of the mist within herself. They'd proposed taking it back from the Akatsuki and sealing it within her, one day naming her the Mizukage. Again, fuck that shit. Taizu didn't want to lead a village, she didn't want to be a hero, and she sure as hell didn't want a psychotic manic beast sharing her body with herself.

Hugo came up on Sasuke's right as Suigetsu took his left flanking him in a triangular formation. However, it was the little redhead that she watched follow behind them that annoyed her. She was a sensory type who was using her chakra to feel out the swamp, which meant Taizu had minimal seconds to act. As Karin stopped to alert the other boys in front of her that there was another nin to their left, something hard hit her in the back of the neck. It was fast…swift…and her vision dimmed. She passed out hitting the edge of the bank. Sasuke paused glancing back eyeing Karin. He didn't have time to see who'd done it but if she was stupid enough to get knocked out then he didn't need her. He turned to continue walking when Hugo stopped and looked around cautiously.

"Stop." He said raising his hand, but it was Suigetsu who laughed. They both glanced at the idiot perplexed by his sudden outburst.

"Oi! Taizu! Come out my friend!" he called into the mist. Taizu rolled her eyes from where she was hiding in a tree branch that sat above the river bank heaving a long sigh. Well she'd now lost the element of surprise.

"You dumbass. You don't just announce other people's presence." She said sliding out of the tree she dropped into sight crouched on the bank standing up to look at them.

Hugo couldn't help but stare for a moment. A kunoichi? The mist had sent a kunoichi to intercept them? He fought back a laugh but smirked still at the thought. He was rather impressed though. She was slender and taller than most females with an elongated neck and round eyes that shone emerald in the moonlight. Her skin was honey colored, not as pale as most, but it also had a faint dusting of small auburn freckles. Her cheeks and nose were sprayed with the little dots, but they didn't mare her face, yet they added to her abnormal appeal. She wasn't the best looking girl he'd seen by far, she was too plain, but he could see why some would want her. She seemed stable. Dependable. Suigetsu interrupted his train of though however, when he swung the executioner's blade (what was left of it) off his shoulder and aimed it at her. She raised an eyebrow watching him bored and put her right hand on her hip.

"Are you kidding me? You're the other swordsman?" she sighed shaking her head. "Really, and here I thought someone worthwhile had taken Zabuza's blade." He twitched half gaping at her before he shut his mouth and grinned at her.

"And here you are, still doing missions like a good little girl. Never deviated from the path did you Taizu?" she snorted.

"If by deviate, you mean follow that creepy ass snake bastard, then no. I never deviated from the path. But I sure as hell don't answer to the Mizukage." She snapped watching him debate whether or not he'd attack her. But of course she knew what he was going to do before he did it. He ran at her with the blade laughing raising it above his head ready to swing it down across her torso and rip her in half. She stayed still until the last possible second and ducked swinging her leg out knocking his legs from under him. As he slipped she grabbed the blade from his hands, punching him in the stomach, she knocked him into the muddy riverbank putting the blade to his throat.

"Don't test my patience. You're the least of my concerns right now. Besides, you never could beat me when we were kids. I don't know why you thought you could do so now." She sighed and put her foot on his chest keeping him down where he was and she looked up towards Sasuke and Hugo.

"Let me guess, orders are to capture and kill?" Hugo grinned watching her shift her weight easily onto Suigetsu's body keeping him down. Sasuke continued watching her eyes, she was watching him the most. Smart girl. She wasn't letting Hugo and Suigetsu distract her from the target. Normally they counted on the diversions for Sasuke to attack from behind, but she wasn't going to let that happen. He could see it. She was too determined and despite what Hugo seemed to think, far too skilled. He could feel her chakra radiating outward from her body even though she was masking most of it.

"The only one I need to kill here is the Uchiha. Stay out of it and I'll let you live." She said meeting Sasuke's eyes while talking to Hugo.

"Then you've agreed to a suicide mission." Sasuke spoke firmly his eyes changed red and she froze caught within the Sharingun before she could even blink. She was fucked.


	2. Chapter 2

She stood stark still trapped within the hollow world inside Sasuke's eyes. His ocular powers were greater than she'd imagined and she had a feeling she was about to go through Hell before she could break the genjutsu. It would take so much time for her chakra to filter through her body to interrupt the flow within her inner chakra that he possessed now. He stood in front of her like a sentinel inspecting his prey before he killed it. He walked around her while she was stuck immobile tilting his head ever so to the side making his bangs fall over his eyes shielding them from her. He drew closer unsheathing his kantana in the process scraping it gently along the ground as he trailed a circle around her, too bad for him interrogation was one of her aces.

"How do you know Suigetsu?" he asked tapping the blade beneath her chin pushing the tip against her throat enough to draw a small dribble of blood.

"It's not your business." She said stubbornly wishing she could move to pull the damn blade from her throat. He pressed it tighter to her skin drawing a thin red line across her throat. His eyes met hers and she saw the pain and deaths of thousands at his hands. He was showing her a world she was afraid of, a world that she wasn't able to control or contribute to. A world in which everyone would fall to the evils of greed and sin. The world Madara Uchiha had shown her years before when she'd been intercepted by the original Akatsuki.

"Now. How do you know Suigetsu?" he asked her again. His plain obsidian eyes bore into hers now without the death tinged glint of blood. She sighed and wavered fighting the immediate urge to fall to her knees as he released her from the Sharingun. She shivered feeling a cold prickle run down her spine but her sense stayed tuned to the man in front of her.

"He was my old partner." She said in a firm voice trying to stay upright. He'd exhausted her chakra with that little stunt but she knew better than to show it.

"Che! Partner! Yeah right!" Suigetsu shouted. He'd gotten up since she'd been frozen in place and he looked pissed off as hell. Not as much as she was by his comment.

"Don't you give me that shit! You left the village on your own! I tried to make you come back idiot!" she snapped.

"No you didn't." he said glaring at her tsking his lips together a hand on his hip. Her ears turned red and her hands were in fists. Sasuke could see a resemblance to the way Naruto looked now when he'd found him a few months back. That same determination and anger…and pain was in her eyes.

"Yes! I did! You stubborn asshole! I went to Orochimaru and offered myself in your place!" she said then, her eyes narrowed. "He agreed to it too, until you decided to agree to cell modification which I couldn't agree too!" She yelled. Suigetsu tilted his head watching her green eyes grow dark and shaded.

"Why couldn't you?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask. Curiosity was one of his many trades.

"Because I'm the last of a clan…and I can't let anyone splice my DNA. It's heavily guarded." She said glaring at Suigetsu still. "You didn't want to come home and you know it. You wanted to make us all suffer because Zabuza didn't pick you as a student. " she growled.

"HEY!" Suigetsu yelled going to take a step towards her, Sasuke put his arm out barring his path.

"Enough. You're worse than small children." He snapped growing wary of their feuding. "Here's the choice. Either you come with us girl, or you can attempt to kill us. Make a decision." She laughed. Actually laughed at him, leaving little curls to spring from her braid gently and frame her slender face.

"Follow you? Seriously?" she asked eyeing them all. "Leave a village that I'm a successful member of to run with the Akatsuki who are traveling after the tailed beasts and the elders of Konoha?" she rose an eyebrow.

"What else are you going to do, stuffy bitch." Suigetsu growled under his breath. Sasuke caught the dangerous dark glint cross her eyes again and he held Suigetsu back.

"I'll piss off the Mizukage a good bit if I leave won't I?" she smirked then and her old friend met her eyes grinning back.

"Yes. Yes you would." He chuckled catching her drift.

"Then yes. I'll go with you. Get's me the hell out of this shit hole." She smirked. And for some strange reason…that beautiful smile set Sasuke's world on fire. Sasuke felt his lower stomach catch a heavy warm feeling and it tightened. How on earth could one smile do that…and since when did Sasuke Uchiha let a woman's smile affect him?

"Then get you asses moving, I want to be out of here by nightfall." He growled and started walking, shoving past Taizu brushing her shoulder. "and since you knocked her out, you can carry Karin." He snapped. She rolled her eye tossing her braid over her shoulder and trudged through the calf high waters to the bank picking up Karin's dead weight.

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'm not gonna take orders from you Uchiha." She said sternly. He glanced back at her narrowing his eyes at her.

"You'll do what I say or you'll die at my hands." He said. She laughed again.

"We'll see little brat." She grinned this time making the freckles on her face dance. "I'll give you a run for your money kid."


	3. Chapter 3

Waking up with her back to the raven haired young man was the strangest feeling Taizu had ever encountered. They'd agreed to take the last two watch shifts and therefore had to sleep near each other. However, she hadn't planned on that meaning as near as he'd meant. Back to back. This was to ensure that both of them could awaken if something happened and that nothing were to their backs. She understood why, but it didn't change the slightly fleeting feeling in her stomach. She sat up rubbing her eyes yawning and raised her hands above her head stretching. Sasuke heard her make a small noise as she stretched, it was small and cute…cute? Hell, when did he ever let the word cute enter his skull. She got to her feet and finished stretching out yawning and rubbing her right arm as if it were in pain. She ran her hand through her long red hair and unbraided it to pull it back into a ponytail this morning. Sasuke silently sat up turning to watch her, she hadn't even heard her. The ringlet curls that her hair fell in over her back were soft and gentle. They settled over her shoulder blades as her arms moved pulling the waves up shifting and bouncing over her pale flesh. It was all he could so not to stare. She glanced backwards for just a moment to make sure she hadn't woken him and stiffened rigidly catching him watching her. Her cheeks flamed the color of her hair and she quickly turned away from him like an embarrassed child. Had she really just caught Sasuke Uchiha checking her out? There was no way that were possible. She swallowed taking a slow breath and turned back around to look at him.

"I suppose it's time to start moving again?" she asked him. In the morning he could tell her voice was soft and lilted. Gentle. The level at which she spoke was barely above a whisper and he could see that here eyes were open but still glazed with sleep.

"Yes. We'll move once the others wake, which shouldn't be long." He nodded getting to his feet.

"So what should we do until they wake up?" she asked him leaning back against the cave wall of which they'd slept. He watched her carefully before an evil thought crossed his mind. He let a smirk escape his willpower. She quirked an eyebrow, watching him smirk. It was evil and dismantled smile one that gave away his unstable personality.

"We'll get everything packed up and then we'll make food. Get clean water…those sort of things." But he said the words things with an air of creativity as if implying many other things they could do. She rolled her eyes tucking small red curls behind her ears on either side of her face.

"Right. You mean I'm doing all of those things because I'm the new member." She said putting her hands on her hips smirking back.

"Why yes, that's exactly what I meant." He laughed and neared her by the wall leveling his eyes with hers. He set his hand on the wall beside her head cornering her where she stood. She went to move and he laid the other hand against the wall standing in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at him watching his every minuscule movements.

"Move." She said firmly going to duck under his arms. He grabbed her shoulder shoving her back against the cave rocks and held her there. She growled in the back of her throat and went to shove his arms off.

"Get off her." Suigetsu snapped standing behind Sasuke his blade to the boy's neck. "Or I will seriously disfigure you Uchiha." His voice was icy. Sasuke chuckled and let go of Taizu, but he'd left a red mark on her collar bone where he'd held her.

"Let's get the water Taizu." Suigetsu said watching Sasuke turn to face them both as she walked to Sui's side.

"I was just having some fun." He said chuckling as they walked out of the cave. She would be a blast to manipulate and tame. He could see Sui was going to be a problem in his way, but he was willing to forego his friend to get to the girl. He leaned back against the cave wall and sneered at Karin as she slept. It had been far too long since he'd been around a self-reliant woman. One that could hold her own in a battle and not have to be protected. The only reason he kept Karin around was to use her for chakra. In the end she was a useless heap that he'd eventually have to discard or loose in the midst of battle. Taizu had almost accomplished that for him.

Suigetsu watched Taizu walk ahead of him carrying the four canteens on her shoulder by the straps. Her red pony tail hung down her back swaying and bouncing lightly in the wind as it churned along the forest's edge. He'd not realized how much he'd missed her. She was a constant reminder of their old home. The place they'd spent so much time together as a team for two years. She'd been a rare sight in any village, a hand to hand combat konouchi. She'd been in the regular female nin's class until a boy had knocked her down in the village one day. Her response had been immediate. She'd punched him, breaking his nose, and kicked him to the ground. A teacher who'd been in town that morning had been present and taken her to class that day to be with the boys. In the mist, the girls were separated from boys completely and trained only as medical nin. Taizu had been destined to evade that title sicne the day she was born.

"Oi, Sui, hand me the canteen." She said looking at him as if he'd lost his mind. He snapped back to reality and picked up the canteen form the river bank handing it to her. He knelt beside her and tilted his head, his eerie blue eyes watched her slightly.

"What did you end up doing back home? All that time…" he asked trailing the question off because they were nearing dangerous territory. She'd either punch him, or talk to him, and you never knew which one she'd do.

"I became a jounin." She said lightly filling the bottles carefully avoiding his gaze. "And then transferred to the Blank Ops." She said in a small voice. He sucked in a breath.

"Well you just were hell bent on destroying every rule the Mist ever set weren't you?" he chuckled but when she didn't say something snide back he touched her shoulder. She shrugged his hand off standing up.

"No." she said refusing to look at him, she spun on her heel and started walking back. "I became stronger to bring you home…" she said barely loud enough for him to hear. He suddenly shot up running to catch up to her. He slid in front of her cutting off her path.

"Are you crazy? I was gone for….half a decade…why would you train that hard to try and bring me back so much longer?" she looked up at him her eyes hurt and filled with strife and pain.

"Because you were my brother. I loved you. I would have died for you…and you left me…so I decided if you could leave me, I'd never stop trying to find you." She whispered.

Suigetsu was beyond stunned. His mouth opened but words did not come out. He watched her trying to shut his mouth desperately because his cheeks were flaming red. He couldn't believe he'd heard her correctly. She'd considered him her brother…Taizu who never let anyone near her or anyone into her life…had loved him like a brother.

"Why you didn't say that…before I left…or when I left?" he asked in a shocked voice.

"Because you were too stupid and infantile to have understood what that meant to me…what you meant to me." He sighed and dropped the canteens and grabbed her pulling her into a hug. She gasped and it took her a full minute before she registered enough to hug him back.

"I was stupid to have left you alone…my sister." He chuckled as she whacked him in the side of the head with a canteen.

"You're damn right you were being stupid!" she laughed as he laughed. Sasuke watched them from the cave mouth agitated his arms crossed over his chest. How could they suddenly apologize and get along with each other as if years of grief hadn't happened? That was impossible. He could never forgive Naruto like that…he could never re-enter Konoha as if nothing had happened…His eyes flashed red as they began to laugh and his fingers turned white as he gripped his arms. There was no such thing as a happy ending.


End file.
